Flameful but I think I'd let my own kid in an expired carseat. But I haven't researched the risks so maybe I'm totally wrong. I just am dubious how much of this is about safety vs $$$$ for Big Carseat.
My H is a safety engineer and is constantly questioning the reasons behind safety regulations being CYA/$$. He would agree and depending on the age of the carseat so would I.
My H's previous role involved engineering life safety components that would be used by the general public, and his experiences with that (and mine as a technical writer for the same equipment) are why we absolutely adhere to these expiration dates. Looking at a car seat and considering the potential failure modes, and then thinking of how our company would mitigate them with preventive maintenance/inspections, I really don't think that it is unrealistic at all that manufacturers essentially can't guarantee the integrity of all components past a certain life expectancy.
Trying for #3; FET 8/18 -- BFN. Leaving things up to chance for now... After three years, three IVFs, and two FETs, we finally have our miracle babIES!
But for the fact that SO many people out there can't come up w/ $400 in cash in an emergency, if someone wants my free carseat? Have at it. Especially as I'm in agreement with Starry about the reasons behind expiration dates...
This is where I am as well.
DH is an engineer and he 100% thinks it's a CYA/$$$ ploy by the manufacturers. He has serious doubts about the breakdown on the plastic, doubting it's not much different than the other plastic used in the rest of the vehicle.
I'm not quite where he is, but your car seat is expiring next month, it didn't expire 5 years ago. If the question is nothing vs. a barely expired seat, I'm all for someone using a seat.
I put our old car seats on the curb and people took them. I think offering it with full disclosure is fine. Someone will use it because it is way better than not having one at all. Most people do not know or care about expiration dates. MY SIL was using a 15 year old seat because someone gave it to her before MIL found out and bought her a new one.
I can't even find an expiration date on my Marathon. It just says manufactured 09/2013. If I have to take it out to see the date on the back, that's not happening.
No need! For Britax seats, the expiration date is the date of mfr (DOM) plus x years. For a convertible seat mfrd after 6/2010, you have 7 years. Double me check me on that -
And fwiw, I totally believe that the plastic and foam in car seats degrades and breaks down over time. Yeah, my seat probably does too (as someone mentioned up-thread), but my skeletal system is stronger/more mature than my kids' and will fare better in a crash.
Post by gibbinator on Apr 21, 2016 10:52:47 GMT -5
I'd totally post it indicating the expiry date. At this point it's not even a question of legality or ethics. It's good for another month. After that point, well, the person who takes it gets to make that decision.
If anyone feels the need to donate a car seat, here's a link to the car seats for the littles page on recommended seats. The cheapest infant seat is $79 and the cheapest convertible seat is $46. These are cost-effective seats that they've reviewed and found to be easy to use and fit kids for longer periods of time. Just throwing this out there since my first thought on donating a car seat used to mean I thought I was committing to a $200-300 purchase.
Sometimes we have posts about how MMM differs from IRL. I think this is one of those times. I don't know about you, but I'm having trouble picturing an IRL conversation in any of my circles that goes: "Hey, I have an almost expired car seat that I need to clear out of my house, is there anything I can do with it that feels less wasteful than cutting the straps?" "No, but you can buy a brand new one and donate it."
I am sure this is in response to me, and the reason I said that is because personally I don't think that donating an expired car seat to someone who can't afford one is a particularly generous thing to do. Frankly it seems a little insulting.
Eta: I think swizz has good intentions by asking, but some of the other responses in here are bugging me.
I have an expired car seat sitting on the floor of DS's closet for this exact reason. I can't bring myself to just cut the straps and leave it on the sidewalk for the next trash pick-up. I keep thinking someone will visit me who needs it for a taxi (better than nothing) or that I'll travel somewhere where car seats aren't the norm, but could be used (I don't have a specific place in mind as the most likely candidates are countries that don't even have cars with functioning seat belts).
I've seen people offer up expired car seats on my town's mom swap board, full disclosure of expiration date, for purposes of using it for a trade in event.
Post by longtimenopost on Apr 21, 2016 12:19:24 GMT -5
I would curb it. But I also sold a drop-sided crib at a garage sale (with disclosure including the option to contact the company for a stabilization kit).
Flameful but I think I'd let my own kid in an expired carseat. But I haven't researched the risks so maybe I'm totally wrong. I just am dubious how much of this is about safety vs $$$$ for Big Carseat.
I used to think this too but if you buy new, and you buy a bucket seat for an infant and then a convertible at age 1, an age 8 limit with a 7 year expiration doesn't increase the number of seats bought that much.
I think @fivedogs mentioned that there are parts that deteriorate after a certain amount of time.
I do wish cars other than the Volvo wagon offered the built-in booster option.
Can I tag on with another question? Maybe @fivedogs can tell me what to do?
I have two convertibles that have been in mostly minor car accidents. One i'm sure didn't need to be replaced but insurance replaced it anyways, and the second was from my recent accident (impact was right behind where the car seat was positioned). That one was replaced by insurance too, so now I'm sitting on 2 car seats that are still probably still good, but I don't know what to do with. DH has been using the first one in his truck, DD rarely rides in it (MAYBE once a week, if that). I replaced her second convertible with the Britax Frontier, since I don't need a convertible anymore. Would you still be comfortable using this one occasionally? I could give it to my cousin to keep in his truck instead of moving their back and forth all the time.
Can I tag on with another question? Maybe @fivedogs can tell me what to do?
I have two convertibles that have been in mostly minor car accidents. One i'm sure didn't need to be replaced but insurance replaced it anyways, and the second was from my recent accident (impact was right behind where the car seat was positioned). That one was replaced by insurance too, so now I'm sitting on 2 car seats that are still probably still good, but I don't know what to do with. DH has been using the first one in his truck, DD rarely rides in it (MAYBE once a week, if that). I replaced her second convertible with the Britax Frontier, since I don't need a convertible anymore. Would you still be comfortable using this one occasionally? I could give it to my cousin to keep in his truck instead of moving their back and forth all the time.
Did the manuals say to stop using after an accident? (Britax has some criteria for using the seats after a minor accident - most manufacturers don't though.)
I had two convertibles that were in minor car accidents - I gave them to the Safe Kids CPST training class here. If I needed any new gear or a shower present, I might have held onto the until the Trade-in.
As a CPST, I would tell you to follow the manufacturer's directions - it should be in the front of the manual.
Both seats were Britax (Marathon and Boulevard): A minor crash is one that meets ALL of following criteria: The vehicle was able to be driven away from the crash site; AND The vehicle door nearest the child restraint was undamaged; AND There were no injuries to any of the vehicle occupants; AND The air bags (if present) did not deploy; AND There is no visible damage to the child seat.
It passes for my first accident, but the second one I had pretty minor bad injuries. My spine shifted because of the impact and I've had to go to a ton of chiropractor appointments since, but its not really anything MAJOR, you know? Its kind of a gray area to me. Did I need to go to the ER? No. I did go to Urgent Care though to get everything on record and because I was sore. ETA: we don't have a BRU in our town (its 2.5 hours away) so i don't think it's likely to be used in a trade-in event.
Both seats were Britax (Marathon and Boulevard): A minor crash is one that meets ALL of following criteria: The vehicle was able to be driven away from the crash site; AND The vehicle door nearest the child restraint was undamaged; AND There were no injuries to any of the vehicle occupants; AND The air bags (if present) did not deploy; AND There is no visible damage to the child seat.
It passes for my first accident, but the second one I had pretty minor bad injuries. My spine shifted because of the impact and I've had to go to a ton of chiropractor appointments since, but its not really anything MAJOR, you know? Its kind of a gray area to me. Did I need to go to the ER? No. I did go to Urgent Care though to get everything on record and because I was sore. ETA: we don't have a BRU in our town (its 2.5 hours away) so i don't think it's likely to be used in a trade-in event.
It's any injury to any occupant (including neck, back, etc. - basically it's a surrogate for the force of the crash), so the second crash is not a minor crash. I would trash that seat.
If the first seat met the criteria for a minor accident, you can keep using it.
Ah ok, I didn't know what really counted as an injury. Thank you so much!!
I would absolutely not sell it. They have expiration dates for a reason- and I personally couldn't knowingly let someone else's child ride in a seat that may or may not be safe.
Post by gibbinator on Apr 21, 2016 14:03:35 GMT -5
Isn't there some charity in the states that ships expired carseats to countries where no one typically uses carseats at all? Am I making this up?.... Hmmm.
Post by awkwardpenguin on Apr 21, 2016 14:36:03 GMT -5
I understand the impulse, and I can see the argument that an expired seat is better than no seat. But using an expired seat more likely would take the place of seeking out a source for a free or inexpensive safe seat, and puts a child at unnecessary risk. Medicaid provides car seats in some states.
I really don't get the Big Car Seat conspiracy theories. The costs of proper child restraints are dwarfed by the cost of actually owning a car, and people frequently replace cars more frequently than expiration dates require car seats be replaced. I loosen and tighten DD's car seat straps multiple times a day - it's not unbelievable to me that they'd eventually wear out.
Many special ed or therapeutic schools use car seats for positioning during feeding therapy. Maybe you could ask around and see if any schools want it?
I can't even find an expiration date on my Marathon. It just says manufactured 09/2013. If I have to take it out to see the date on the back, that's not happening.
Britax seats expire 7 years from the date of manufacture.